Photographer of the Week | Leon & Peter Baas

Leon and Peter Baas are Dutch photographers who specialise in nature photography, I am particularly interested in their macro insect shots so I've decided to make them my photographers of the week this week. They have a very distinctive style of shots, they are all beautifully lit which results in such vibrant colours being captured making their images extremely eye-catching. This image below displays just a small section of their work.

ⒸPeterAndLeonBaas

They spend a lot of time researching the insects that they plan to photograph so that they can understand the habits of the creatures, which enables them to follow their every move carefully, resulting in these fantastic shots. They also rarely use photoshop as they spend a great deal of time focusing on the lighting of their shots instead. I have recently purchased a flashgun so i'm hoping to take inspiration from their work when using it to try and achieve shots as beautiful as theirs, I can't wait until summer to do so!

ⒸPeterAndLeonBaas

This photograph of an ant is my absolute favourite of theirs, captured by Leon. I love the combination of pink and purple tones which create a gorgeous soft background, contrasted against the sharp brown colours of the ant making him really stand out. It's incredible how he's managed to capture it just at the right moment to make it look as though the tiny ant is walking on water. I can only dream of being able to achieve a shot as amazing as this!

If you'd like to find out more about Peter and Leon Bass, and look at all their other fantastic images you can check out their website here.

Thanks for reading!

Basic Techniques | Flash Modes

There are many different flash modes available on DSLR cameras, today I am going to briefly explain what each one is used for, and how it works, I have included examples of each mode below by using each mode on the same subject matter to demonstrate effectively the difference between each one.

Flash Off:

This is pretty self-explantory, this just means that no form of flash is being used, the picture is being taken with natural lighting, you may often require longer exposures when not using a flash so a tripod may also be required.

Auto:

Automatic flash will be used when the camera feels that more light is needed for the subject, you have very little control with this setting as the camera takes charge.

Fill-Flash:

With this mode selected, the flash will fire throughout each shot you take. This method produces even lighting across the subject and is most succesfully used to fill in dark shadows within the scene, for example lighting up under-eye areas in portrait photography, the underside of trees in nature photography, and so on.

Slow Sync Flash:
This method is mostly used in unison with slow shutter speeds to capture a clear subject and background.

Rear Sync Flash:

When using this mode of flash in unison with long exposures or fast moving subjects, the burst of light will be fired at the end of the exposure rather than the beginning. This is best to show moving subjects, as the trail captured from the natural light before the flash fires will fall behind them in the picture and look more natural. With the flash firing at the beginning the trail will appear in front making the subject look as though it's moving backwards which can seem very unnatural within the image.

Wireless Flash:

This method is selected when using external flash devices, such as softboxes, flashguns, etc, to enable them to fire when you press the shutter on your camera.

Flash Exposure Compensation:

This can be used to alter the intensity of the flash, if it's a bit too harsh for your subject you can take it down a few stops, and if it's too bright then you can bring it up a few stops also. Whether you choose to add any compensation will depend on how you analyse the scene your taking yourself, a decision made through personal preference. This option is usally found within the menu section of your camera.

I have included a grid of images below using a continous subject matter to demonstrate quickly the difference between each flash mode, i hope this helps to highlight the difference between the various modes.

Shutter Speed = 1
Aperture = f/5.6

Shutter Speed = 1/125
Aperture = f/5.6

Shutter Speed =1
Aperture = f/5.6

Shutter Speed = 1
Aperture f/5.6

Shutter Speed =1
Aperture = f/5.6

Shutter Speed = 1
Aperture = f/5.6

Shutter Speed = 4
Aperture = f/13

All images Ⓒ2014HannahBennett










From the images above, you can quite clearly see the difference between the various flashes. I feel that by using the same subject matter, and set-up, throughout each shot this has really helped to emphasize the difference between each style flash.

Which flash mode do you think has worked best? Leave a comment below letting me know! Personally, as this is technically a portrait, despite it being a Polly Pocket figurine, I feel that the fill flash mode, with no light exposure compensation, has worked best as the figurine appears very evenly lit, despite the slight shine on her arm and top which is only really a result of the plastic material she's made out of.

If you'd like even more information and examples of the various types of flash then you can visit this link here, where a similar post has been written about different flash modes.

Basic Techniques | Shutter Speed and Aperture

Throughout today's post I am going to describe the different effects you can create within photographs by choosing different aperture and shutter speed settings in your camera. 

Shutter Speed

The speed of the shutter controls how long the shutters open for resulting in how much light passes through onto the image sensor within your camera.

Fast Shutter Speeds:

Shutter Speed 1/500
Ⓒ2014HannahBennett

A fast shutter speed is used to freeze the movement of subjects that are travelling quite quickly, this could be a fast running athlete, a bird fluttering it's wings, anything moving at a fast pace within the frame. The image above is an example which demonstrates the use of a very quick shutter speed. It's a shot of a sports car which was taken whilst it was speeding around the track. To freeze the movement of the car and ensure it appeared sharp within the shot a shutter speed of 1/500 was used.

Slow Shutter Speeds:

Shutter Speed = 1 
©2014HannahBennett

A slow shutter speed is used to create the opposite effect so that you can capture the movement of your subject. This image above demonstrates this as it was taken over a 1 second long exposure to capture the full movement of the firework.

Aperture

Source

The aperture, controlled by a device inside your lens known as a diaphragm, also controls the amount of light passing through onto the sensor but more importantly controls the range of focus across the image as well. The size of the aperture is referred to as an 'f-number', your camera will have a number of different f-stops. As demonstrated in the picture above, a low number aperture, such as f/1.4 will increase the size of the diaphragm, resulting in a very shallow depth of field, and a high number aperture, such as f/8 will descrease the size of the diaphragm and result in a very deep depth of field.

Shallow Depth of Field:

Aperture = f/2.8
©2014HannahBennett

As you can see above, this photograph demonstrates the use of a low number f stop, resulting in a very large amount of the background being blurred, which is referred to as a shallow depth of field.

Deep Depth of Field:

Aperture = f/32
©2014HannahBennett

However, this image above, display the opposite, the use of a high number f stop, which has resulted in very little blurring of the background, keeping most of the frame within focus. As you can see, the petals in the background are relatively clear, you can see the natural lines running through the petals, this detail hasn't been lost as a result of any blurring. 

You can create many different effects in your images by experimenting with different shutter speed and aperture combinations, the easiest way to find out what works best is by having a mess around with your own cameras until you've got the hang of it.

Thanks for reading!

Basic Techniques | Photography Terminology

Today I am going to write a glossary to cover all key photographic terms briefly. This can be used to find a quick description of the word you're unfamiliar with. I have arranged the terms alphabetically so that it's easy to find what you're looking for. I hope this list will help you to get to a better understanding of your dslr camera.

Accessory Shoe - located on top of the camera, used to place attachments, such as flash guns, to it

Aperture - controls the focus range

Built-In Flash - the flash which is built into your camera

Camera Shake - means that the camera is moving too much to capture a sharp image

Control Dial -  can be used to change camera settings

Diopter Adjustment Dial -  this alters the focus of the viewfinder to suit your eyesight

Exposure - the length of time that light is let onto the camera sensor

Depth of Field - the range that is in focus within the photograph

Focus- when "in focus" your picture will be sharp and clear, when "out of focus" it will be blurry and unclear

Focus Mode Switch - used to switch between auto and manual focus modes, these switches are usually found on both the lens and camera body

Focus Ring - rotate this to achieve different focal lengths.

Histogram - a graph which is used to display the colour distribution and exposure of the scene you're shooting/have shot

ISO - measures sensitivity of image sensor

Lens Release Button - used to remove lens from camera body

Live View - view the picture your taking on the LCD monitor

Live View/OVF switch - use this to switch between viewing modes

Memory Card - stores the photographs that you take

Menu Button - opens up camera menu

Mirror - enables you to view the scene through the viewfinder

Monitor - displays all camera information

Mode Dial - used to switch between camera modes

Playback Button - press this to view the pictures you've taken

Power Switch - turns camera on/off

Self-Timer - puts a number of seconds between the shutter button being pressed and the picture being taken

Sensor - the part of the camera which captures the image

Shutter Button - press this to take a picture, push half way down to focus (in autofocus mode), push down fully to take the shot

Smart Teleconverter Button -

Subject - whatever it is that you're photographing

Tripod - used to attach camera onto and give extra support

Viewfinder - you can view the picture your taking through here

White Balance - analyses the temperature of the light in the scene you're shooting

Zoom In Button - used to zoom into pictures you've taken

Zoom Ring - can be turned to zoom into and out of areas of 

If I have missed any key terms of this list please let me know :)

Blog Update | New Feature Coming Soon

Hello everyone, hope you're all enjoying the new year so far, these first two weeks have already flown by! Just a little note from me to apologise for the lack of content recently, I'm currently planning on introducing a new segment called 'basic techniques' where I will be talking through the key elements of photography to help people get a better idea of how to use their cameras, so if any of you have decided to pick up a new hobby as part of your New Years resolutions and have chosen to take up photography then this new feature will be perfect for you. These posts will include key topics such as shutter speed, aperture and so on, just general information on how to get to grips with your camera to help you make the most out it. I'm hoping that this will be useful not only for beginners but for photographers of all levels as well as I find its nice to refresh your knowledge of certain aspects of photography from time to time. As I cover the basic techniques I will probably move on to more advanced stuff so keep an eye out for that in the coming months as well! Thanks for reading I hope you've been enjoying my blog so far and will enjoy the posts to come :)